Dear Fellow Saints and Brothers in Jesus Christ,

One of the characters in Bo Giertz’s novel The Hammer of God said, "Can anything be greater than to be a pastor in God’s Church?"

God uses people from just about all walks of life to accomplish His purposes in the world. He perpetually sustains His creation through farmers, laborers, scientists and homemakers. But there is something special about the Office of the Ministry. The Preaching Office. It is “great” as the Bo Giertz’s character put it, but this is not greatness as the world understands greatness. It is service and it is sacrifice. And sometimes it is suffering.

The pastor is more than just the dispenser of good advice or the sympathetic shoulder to lean upon. And despite the common jest, he does work more than just one hour a week. His divine task is to convey the very life of God to people who are alienated from their Creator. This happens publicly from the pulpit, altar and font. And it happens in church basements as a Scripture verse is pondered; it happens in conversations in living rooms; it happens by the sickbed and it happens beside the grave.

First of all, I urge you to prayerfully consider donating your life to service in God’s Church. And secondly, I hope you will consider Concordia Theological Seminary. Why should you consider enrolling at the seminary? So that you can receive a good theological education? Or so that you can fulfill certain requirements in order to attain a vocational goal? While these two things may be true, there is somewhat more to it than that if you desire to become a pastor in God’s Church. Pastoral training must be more than merely the acquisition of information or the jumping through of hoops. Martin Luther once said that a theologian is made by three means: prayer, study and suffering. This suggests that it takes more to make you a minister than just a diploma. And pastoral ministry is not an ordinary job. It is a life. A divine commission. A path devoted to announcing freedom and salvation to men, women and children steeped in sin and oppressed by death.

At its best, seminary training offers a type of literacy. You might say that the pastor has three texts to interpret. First and without question the most important is the Holy Scripture, the words of eternal life. But in a secondary way, the pastor must able to “read” his people and he must be able to “read” the world in which they live and in which his ministry takes place. Our seminary is equipped to teach men the art of interpreting all three texts so that God’s Word of life may be skillfully applied to people.

Concordia Theological Seminary is in an excellent position to develop pastors who will bring the gifts of God to the people of God. Through daily prayer, intensive study and experience, the seminarian is formed into a man of God and steward of His mysteries. We look forward to hearing from you. We look forward to meeting your family and hopefully assisting you through transition to the seminary. We are here to serve you as you prepare for a life of making Christ known to those in need of the friendship of God.

All glory to God.

Yours sincerely,

Rev. Scott Stiegemeyer
Director of Admission